Ah, Mondays

by Randomus Prime

"Time will tell, Maggy," the Autobot leader grabbed his friend's hand and caringly held it, "hey look! Unicron's head!" "Ah, Mondays …" Ultra Magnus x Hot Rod, Angst

Ah, Mondays.

Author's Foreword:

I DO NOT OWN TRANSFORMERS, as much as I wish I would, I do not. The parts and pieces were used ONLY for the purpose of helping the reader understand where the parts happen and where they end. Please do not get me served ...

This is my first attempt at angst and it is looooooooong. Enjoy.

It would help you A LOT if you watched the Transformers G1 movie (BUY IT!) because I pretty much decided to fill in some blanks for the pairing of Ultra Magnus x Hot Rod. (yes i will be filling in the blanks for not just them but or the whole movie for other characters but that will be later ... MUCH LATER)

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Ever since he rolled out of the mechanic shop for the first time, Ultra Magnus was a soldier – taking orders and executing them with astounding precision like nobody else – that was his life. The Great War raged on: many of his comrades died, many battles had been won and lost, destruction everywhere; but did it change anything? And after seeing many of his commanding officers completely break down under pressure, the soldier prayed day and night for this enormous responsibility to never fall on him.

"Oh, another Monday."

Time passed, more death, new friends and then suddenly he was promoted to Commander. For bravery, self-sacrifice, courage and outstanding service, they said. We expect great things of you, they said. Ultra Magnus didn't how to react to this; on one hand he was scared to the metallic skeleton, but on the other – there was no way he couldn't appreciate the attempt to show how much he was valued, as misplaced as it may be.

"Mondays, urgh."

Autobot City on Earth with was at his command. He thanked Cybertron that it was the less likely place the Decepticons would attack since the two factions were busy elsewhere, amassing resources for a major battle. Still, he was concerned and unsure of his ability.

Everything was going quite smoothly, all operations and duties carried out with awesome precision, nothing too big... until the day when he met Hot Rod.

At first, Ultra Magnus didn't give it much thought since many youngbots looked up to him and wanted "some of that ultramagnusness to rub off on them", as Springer expressed it. However that one actually caught his eye; he was unfamiliar with the feeling that slowly took over his processor. As time went on, he began noticing some things: both of them spent a lot of time together, Ultra Magnus worked much better, felt more spiritually uplifted than ever; and Hot Rod's avid fascination with the Commander, almost flirting with him.

Then one day, it just happened, out of the blue. The young soldier was enjoying his time-off doing all kinds of random activities that youngbots did those days and stumbled upon Ultra Magnus. Proposing to join him after the duties were completed, the leader agreed to spend some time to get to know him. One thing led to another and the next thing he knew, hands were running over back struts, lips meshed together in hungry kisses, and they had done it on the soccer field six times.

"Should we be doing this? This is against regulations."

Instead of saying anything, Hot Rod only jumped Ultra Magnus again; a few more times enjoying one another.

"We are breaking rules …"

"We are naughty! Let's break some more!"

"Haha. However, before we continue – nobody must know about this." The Commander, to his own surprise felt a strange jolt of excitement, but didn't lose sight of his responsibility.

"Reeeeeelaaax! Nobody will find out. I promise."

"Hm," Ultra Magnus looked at the mischievous youngbot, "well, it is against regulations to do it in the kitchen …"

"Ah, Mondays."

.

.

"Hot Rod! Look! There is a hole in the shuttle!"

"What? Decepticons!"

Why? Just, why?

This day started off so well! First him and Daniel went for a drive, then sight seeing; then Ultra Magnus called and said that he had a surprise for the youngbot but it would take some time to prepare, which is when Hot Rod and the human decided to go fishing. The kid missed his father quite a lot; even the warrior's fishy catch didn't distract the boy, however an incoming shuttle did.

Getting to the Look Out Mountain, with the hope to see Spike and the other Autobots, Hot Rod thought of it as another way to kill some time before Ultra Magnus' surprise. Little did anybody know just how much things would change on that day.

.

.

"Blurr, you can help me alert the others."

"Absolutelypostivelydefinately! . Nobodynobodynobody!"

In the name of Cybertron, how could any of this happen? This was supposed to be the least likely place the Decepticons would attack! What the slag?

"Might as well forget the present for Hot Rod …"

Everything was happening so suddenly and quickly that Ultra Magnus had a hard time processing any information. Finally, pulling himself together and managing to get rid of the nagging insecurities, the commander ordered to activate the defenses, bring the fortress to full alert and contact Optimus Prime for reinforcements.

"All right!" the mech thought to himself, sighing in relief as he transformed, "this is turning out better than I expected …"

"… but Hot Rod and Kup are still outside the city!"

"… fuck …"

.

.

"We betteh step on it kid! Once the defenses are fully operational there won't be a way for us to get in!"

"So we will be locked out with all the Decepticons?"

"This reminds me of the time on Woogiewoogiebloo III when …"

Hot Rod was no longer listening to Kup. Ultra Magnus would never do that! There was just no way! He wouldn't leave him all alone to fend for himself!

Driving like this, with a hurricane of emotions raging in his processor, they finally got to the Autobot City.

"Hey kid! It's still open!"

The youngbot looked at the gate. The insecticons were quickly eating through the metal doors making a huge hole in them, big enough for both Autobots to jump through in their vehicle mode. Normally it would be a bad thing but the fact that there was a way inside the city warmed the mech somewhat. He would get to see Ultra Magnus! How could he abandon the young soldier like this considering their relationship? Hot Rod made it a point to give the commander a piece of his mind! How dare he?

"The insecticons 're in our way!"

"Wrong! They are our way in! EEYAA!"

Finally, inside! Hot Rod didn't slow down after reaching the fortress; he only sped up, wishing to find Ultra Magnus as fast as he could.

"Where would he be? It's chaos out there! The battle stations! Definitely!"

"Kid! Slow down!"

No way, not now. Getting to the stairs of one of the bunkers, the young soldier transformed as he jumped down the flight to see Arcee and Springer manning the station.

"Keep at it Springeh my boy! Help's a' hand!"

Hot Rod, disgruntled that he didn't find Ultra Magnus and had to help them out instead, began pushing the huge cannon, barely paying any attention around him. Mechanical heart pounded like crazy, the bot wanted to see his commander; love, hate, confusion and fear were stirring up a storm inside the soldier. It didn't help that Arcee began bitching at him nor that Devestator threw a huge chunk of the wall at them, making them in the end having to run for their lives.

"Why can't this just be over? URGH! SO FRUSTRATING!"

.

.

"Redirect all power from secondary and tertiary functions to shields, weapons and communications. Evacuate all non-essential personnel and wounded. Seal off breached areas. Get everyone who can fight to the secondary battle stations. Perceptor, status report?"

"Commander! Heavy casualties, 78 percent of our forces have been wiped out. Fortress functionality down to 24 percent, automated defense systems are shutting down. The last power generator just went offline. Switching to emergency generators. We have people trapped in the lower levels and outside. Sir, we are not going to last much longer without reinforcements!"

It was too much for him to handle, all this was too intense. If he was a human, the commander would have been sweating like a pig. Fear made its presence known again inside his spark. Fear of failure, not of death; the responsibility to hundreds of lives resting in his hands, most of which were now gone. Looking up in the sky, he prayed for help, any kind of help, anything.

"Why did I have to be the commander? I should be out there helping my comrades, I am a soldier for crying out loud! They are dying because of my incompetence!" Ultra Magnus was barely able to deal with the wave of mortifying anxiety scaring the living slag out of him as it was, reminding him of the enormous responsibilities. The mech did all he could to keep himself together in front of his soldiers.

"For how much longer will this …" the mech suddenly noticed a spacecraft in the sky, "Optimus Prime!"

"Optimus Prime to Autobot City, respond."

"Optimus, this is Ultra Magnus. Good that you came when you did. We are getting hammered; we need reinforcements."

"Ultra Magnus, old friend! We are going to slow down Megatron and give you time to evacuate the wounded …"

"We don't have any wounded; the Decepticons made sure of that."

"This is worse than I thought. All right then, regroup and rejoin combat, we are going to need all the Autobots we can get."

"Yes Prime."

"Dinobots! Destroy Devestator!"

"Me Grimlock love challenge!"

.

.

It was a miracle that nobody got so much as a scratch from Devestator flinging a huge chunk of the wall into the bunker. Somehow ending up outside, Hot Rod looked around and saw the gigantic combiner rip apart whatever was left of their last line of defense.

"No! This can't be! Ultra Magnus! No!"

"Dinobots! Transfooooorm!"

Looking up into the sky, he saw the 5 legendary dinobots engage Devestator, giving Hot Rod hope that this might end better than he feared.

"All Autobot City personnel! Regroup!"

.

.

"So, Maggy …"

A lot less Autobots got to the rally point than Ultra Magnus expected which put the city commander at a loss. Taking a second to re-evaluate the situation and coordinating the counterattack with Sunstreaker and Hound, he finally managed to organize teams and send them accordingly to join Optimus' forces.

"Maggy! Are you listening to me?"

"Hot Rod? What?"

"Hey," the soldier was getting more pissed by the astrosecond, "I am talking here! Have the decency to listen to what I have to say!"

"Hot Rod, we don't have time for this …"

"You locked me out of the city!"

"For the last time, we do not have the time for this!"

"Listen you …"

"Hot Rod, carry out your orders."

"Fine," the young soldier said, running off after a few astroseconds of staring at one another, "but this is not over."

"Sweet Cybertron," Ultra Magnus facepalmed, trying to get himself together, "can this Monday get any worse?"

.

.

"Stupid Ultra Magnus, I will kick lots of Decepticreep butt! That will show him to treat me like this!"

Hot Rod ran down one of the improvised trenches, kicking random debris out of his way, looking for any victims upon which to relieve his frustration.

"I will rip out your optics!"

"That's Megatron's voice!" The youngbot thought as he looked around and saw the two leaders beat the ever living slag out of each other, "Hey! This is much better! If I bring him down, Ultra Magnus is bound to stop treating me like this! Maybe I will punish him, just a bit. Tee hee hee!"

"I got to help Prime!"

"Stay away lad! That's Prime's fight!"

"Oh, what does he know," Hot Rod thought to himself, "none of them tried to understand me or treat me with respect!"

Sneaking in closer to the fight and looking for a good angle to strike from, the mech ended up a few dozen meters behind Megatron. Seeing as Optimus Prime threw the Decepticon across the platform, Hot Rod ran to make his move.

"Finish him off Prime! Do it now!"

"No more Optimus Prime! Grant me mercy! I beg of you!"

"You, who are without mercy, now plea for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff!"

"Faster, faster!" The soldier thought to himself. Suddenly, he noticed that the Decepticon leader was grabbing a gun off the ground. Scared for the life of the Supreme Commander, the Autobot threw himself at the evil mech, "No you don't Megatron!"

"Get out of the way Hot Rod!"

The Decepticon was way stronger than the young bot imagined. He was even stronger than Ultra Magnus! Locking Hot Rod in position with one of his arms and using the Autobot as a shield, Megatron raised his gun and shot Optimus Prime.

"Fall! Fall!" the Decepticon yelled as he shot the Autobot leader down to the ground.

"No! This isn't happening! NO! THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!" Hot Rod screamed inside his processor, "this cannot be happening! No!"

Megatron got up and threw Hot Rod off to the side like a piece of trash, having the bot hit his head on the wall and incapacitating him for a short time.

The next few seconds went by in slow motion; Megatron approached the Autobot leader to finish him off but got slammed so hard that he was blown off the platform and fell quite a distance to the ground. Quickly regaining his ability to move, Hot Rod ran up to Optimus Prime, crouching down by his leader's side.

"Optimus!"

He didn't know what to think, he didn't know what to do; he didn't know how to set this right. The world as he knew it was crashing and burning down to the ground.

"Forgive me!"

.

.

Optimus Prime, the greatest Autobot leader, had passed away. Sure, the battle was won, sure, Megatron was dead and the Decepticons' main forces beaten, but at what price?

"How could this happen?" Ultra Magnus was desperately trying to keep himself together. It was as if everything decided to go wrong on that day and screw up everybody's lives. The City they could repair, no problem; it would take a long time but it wasn't anything to get frustrated about considering that without it they would be dead before Opitmus' arrival. The little fight with Hot Rod wasn't too much to stress about, at least in the mech's point of view, but it did create a very unpleasant, nagging feeling that only riled him up every time he thought about it.

"We should both calm down and talk during a break."

Optimus was everybody's friend but with Ultra Magnus, they shared some kind of a greater bond; different than friendship, greater than brothers, the two understood each other better than anyone else. They had watched each other's backs ever since the two got to know each other: dragging each other to the medbays when they were injured, saving one another's lives more times than they cared to count; losing many friends along the way and in the ever changing life of war, they remained the only constants. The two were always thrown into trembling terror, fear clasping their mechanical hearts and squeezing them from all sanity; peace and confidence every time they saw a commanding officer break down, casting the mission to hell and resulting in hundreds of casualties. Who ever wanted to be responsible for a comrade's death? Who would ever want to be responsible for the Decepticons wining?

Ultra Magnus was no longer just a soldier, he was now the Supreme Autobot Commander, the highest authority. It drove him insane -he wanted to stuff himself in a corner and scrunch himself into a ball but he couldn't do that, no. Over millions of years he learned many things, for example, how devastating it can be for the soldiers to see their C.O. show fear or confusion, or what a long way they could go when their leader projected courage and determination. Ultra Magnus had a responsibility to all Autobots, more than one would assume came with being the head of a whole faction. He could not show any wavering, especially now considering how bad things turned out to be. The Autobots needed a strong leader, and Ultra Magnus -as unsure as he was of his ability- in honor of Optimus' memory, was ready to sacrifice every atom quark of his body to be just that.

"Ultra Magnus!"

"What Hot Rod?"

"I-I-I think we need to talk."

"Hot Rod, we were …"

"No, it is not about …" the youngbot took a deep breath, "… it's not about that."

"What?" Ultra Magnus widened his optics, "than what is it about?"

"It-it's about Optimus Prime and us. You two are old friends and everything right? And the two of us are …"

"Hot Rod, please, get to the point. We have a city to repair. Can't this wait until we take a break?"

"No, it-it-it can't. This is something you should know. I don't know how to tell you this but …" the soldier lowered his head as he felt coolant rush to his optics, "… but Optimus died because of me."

"Wh-what?"

Hot Rod told Ultra Magnus of all that had happened, what the bot felt, what he wanted to do... everything.

"I-I am sorry," The youngbot said in the end.

"Y-y-y-you …"

"I am sorry Ultra Magnus."

The Commander shut his mouth and stared at his lover. He had no idea how the hell to react to all of this.

"I am sor…"

"Just …" Ultra Magnus raised his hand as he began stepping away from Hot Rod, "… just …"

"… but Ultr…"

"Just don't." Ultra Magnus said as he walked further away and thought to himself, "I hate Mondays."

"I am sorry," Hot Rod said. Standing there, in the middle of a room with a destroyed ceiling, he looked up in the sky. "I am sorry." Rain began pouring, cleansing the metallic city of the mud and grime of battle, mixing with the drops of coolant pouring from the bot's optics.

"I am so sorry."

"Hot Rod?" Arcee walked in, "What are you doing here? Are you crying?"

She can't know, nobody can know.

"What? Me?," he lowered his head to see Arcee, deciding to stay collected; nobody needed this drama, "Ha! Good luck ever seeing that happen! Let's go rebuild!"

.

.

The city was in worse shape than Ultra Magnus originally thought: not a single wall was without at least a huge scratch, a rather scary dent or a gunshot hole. However, it did not faze the Supreme Commander much- not that it could, with everything that happened so far he found it very hard to feel anything at all. Repair operations were well under their way and everyone was working hard too.

Ultra Magnus didn't talk to Hot Rod after the youngbot's confession. He knew that they had to but how would it go down? What would he say? Was there even going to be a relationship after all this was over? He had to deal with a huge load of things already and then Hot Rod had to dump all of that on him. Even though it was the right thing to do, Ultra Magnus still wished for some better timing on the other's half. On the verge of tears, he broke everyone down into groups and worked by himself. He couldn't allow anyone see him in that state, leaving all the heavy lifting all for himself to somehow work it off.

"… I don't hate … you … I … I just don't … but … you were the reason Prime died … he saved my life hundreds of times … we fought side by side for millions of years … and you … we got to know each other just last month! You make … made … me happy … but … I am now the Supreme Commander … how … Argh! This is too much! This is …"

"This is Jazz: a ginormous, weird looking-planet just showed up in the suburbs of Cybertron …"

"… and it's attacking Moon-Base One!"

"Jazz! Cliffjumper!"

.

.

Hot Rod didn't want to do anything; he didn't want to work, he didn't want to think, he didn't want to idle, he didn't want to breathe. The whole world in just one day had turned upside down, his life would never be the same again and it was mostly because of him! If only he could control himself, if only he had the same insight.

"If I can't take care of myself, than how can I ever be worthy of Ultra Magnus? Am I deserving of anything? I failed! If only I could go back and change it!" the soldier thought to himself.

"Hey, Hot Rod! How are those transistors coming?"

"I aaaaam …" the bot looked at the repairs he has done so far, "… about half way there, Arcee. Just completed the hard part so I should be done within half a cycle."

"All right, I am done here. I will go see whether Springer and Blaster need any help."

"Go ahead. Tell them I said hi!"

Hot Rod had to upkeep his normal behavior, if they found out what was going on inside the youngbot, it would just cause more trouble and add one more thing for everyone to worry about. He too had to stay strong and show no weakness.

"Not that we already have enough … stupid thing why won't you work? Oh! I see! There! …maybe they were right, maybe it was too early for me, maybe I should have stayed in training … forever … HOLY SLAG HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO STUPID? How can Ultra Magnus … Ultra Magnus … I am sorry … I really am … you are so strong and selfless … brave … smart … and … fun … I … I … I want to be just like you … from now on … I will do all I can to be like you …"

"Hot Rod!"

"What? Ah!" The Autobot turned and got scared from the huge T-rex mouth appearing right next to his face, exploding with a stench, "Grimlock! It's called TechTacs! What the slag did you eat this time?"

"Erm, me Grimlock try Earth fish. It taste good but smell bad."

"So big guy," Hot Rod sighed, "What is it?"

"Him Ultra Magnus tell me Grimlock to call you Hot Rod to come fast! It emergency!"

"All right! Let's go, Fishlock."

"Me Grimlock not Fishlock! Me Grimlock King!"

.

.

"Look!"

"It isn't even dented! Oh shit what are we gonna do now?"

"We are being sucked into it!"

"Spike! Bumblebee! Spike! Bumblebee!"

"Dad!"

"Blaster, take Sunstreaker and Hound. I need you to find Chip Chase; he is the only one who has the equipment to transmit everything we witnessed here to every Autobot in the galaxy. We need to warn everyone."

"Will do Ultra man!"

.

.

"… maybe The Matrix can stop it."

"You are right! It can!" Hot Rod found an opening to support Ultra Magnus.

"Wha' do you know about it, lad?"

"I just got this feeling."

"Look!" Springer yelled out as Decepticons flew down on them.

"To the shuttles."

.

.

"Ok, forget it! Kup, Hot Rod, you guys get the dinobots aboard and get out of here."

"Wh-what?" The young soldier found himself surprised. "But I thought that I could ride with him! Eh, maybe he needs some time away from … me … I … I … understand."

"Come on you big bozo, get in the shuttle!" Hot Rod yelled at Grimlock, who refused to get aboard and continued, thinking, "… he is the Supreme Commander … he can't have himself getting distracted by … anybody … let alone me …"

"ENGAGE THE BOOSTERS FOR CYBERTRON'S SAKE!"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Hot Rod activated the ship's propulsion systems, lifting as fast as they could; escaping the Decepticons into the never-ending darkness of the universe.

.

.

Ultra Magnus was tired as hell... this slagging Monday just never ended! Leaning back in his seat, the Commander was taking a long-needed breather – they managed to escape! Thank the Matrix!

One fairly big problem was replaced by a much, much bigger one. The Decepticons were back in action. As destructive as they could be, the thing that destroyed Moon Bases one and two still remained their first priority. Not only was Cybertron in danger of annihilation, but Earth and the whole universe were at risk as well.

The new developments made Ultra Magnus that much more uneasy and afraid; there was no way they could form a temporary alliance. He had to think of a plan, he had to think of it fast and it had to be a good one. Trying to calm himself down, he shoved all the annoying thoughts piling in his processor into a corner, but it did not get rid of the unfathomable chill creeping through his joints and inner circuitry.

"Where … did it come … from … anyway? Makes you wonder just how big the universe really is and how small we are in comparison. Wait, what am I thinking? I need to rest and …"

Unfortunately, Ultra Magnus never got to finish even his train of thought as the ship was hit by something, causing an explosion which shook the whole craft.

"Decepticons!"

.

.

Hot Rod had to work off his anxiety and anger, and the best way he found to do that was training. Having a combat instructor drone practice with him, he was finding it increasingly harder and harder to restrain himself from simply bashing the innocent machine into the wall and ripping it apart, because the slagging scrap-heap kept taking cheap shots on him. Kup and the dinobots were not exactly helping either, talking about the oldbot's war stories and yelling to hear the good parts. Finally, Hot Rod could no longer resist the urge:

"Hey Kup! Don't you think we have better things to do now than tell old stories?"

"Like what?"

"Like maybe figure out how we are gonna rescue our friends and then save Cybertron."

"NO! TELL STORY!"

"HSSSS!"

"QUIET!"

"TELL STORY!"

"TELL STORY!"

"WE WANNA HEAR STORY!"

"I tried …" Hot Rod had his trail of thought interrupted by the drone, hitting him on the back really hard. The young soldier regained his balance and turned to face the drone, intent on beating the ever-slagging circuitry out of that stupid thing in hopes to relieve some of his anger.

"Time out! Time out! TIME OUT!" He'd already grabbed the drone and had it trapped within his servos when the ship suddenly rocked violently.

"We are under attack!"

The fight didn't last long, it wasn't much of a fight in the first place; the shuttle was ill-equipped with weaponry in the first place so the only thing they could do was find ways to survive the next assault. The homing rockets were taken care of but once Cyclonus was set loose on them, there was nothing they could do.

"Propulsion systems are not responding! Life support failing! Venting atmosphere!" Kup paused to try something, "I can't control it!"

"We are gonna crash!" Hot Rod yelled out just in time. They ran from one end of the ship to another as fast as they could, just as the front of the shuttle hit some weird, jutting curvy structures; effectively destroying the odd pillars and the ship, throwing everyone aboard all over the weird planet.

"DAMN IT!"

.

.

"Divert power to the engines. Evasive maneuvers."

"They are not focusing on us; they are going after Hot Rod and Kup!"

"What? But that makes no sense!"

"And now we are worth their undivided attention!" Springer looked at the scanners, "Kup and Hot Rod just bought it!"

"I can't deal with that now." Ultra Magnus was surprised at himself for saying it. What happened to him? Had he stop caring? Was it apathy?

"Face it Magnus! The Decepticons are gonna dog us 'till they see us dead!"

The Commander turned to the controls as he came up with an idea to escape their pursuers.

"Then that's exactly what they are gonna see …"

The next few minutes went by so hectically and fast that they became a blur in his memory. Finally having escaped doom, Ultra Magnus was at last able to breathe for the first time in hours.

"… but how are we gonna get there in this wreck?"

"Hm, Arcee brings up a good point. We will need to repair the ship if we hope to get anywhere at all. So much for rest." Ultra Magnus turned to the scientist, "Perceptor, can you locate a place to set down for repairs?"

"The Gamma waves in this blah blah marginal blah blah blah blah probablities blah blah blah however … hehem, yes I believe I can. The planet of Junk is in this vicinity."

"Then let's go for it." Ultra Magnus ordered and said to himself, "let's go to that planet and in the meanwhile I will take a minute to calm down. Wait a minute! Hot Rod and Kup! No, I can't worry about that!"

.

.

"Kup! Grimlock! Slag! Anybody!"

"What the slag is this weird seaweed? What's with the fishes? They are all robotic and … oh no! They are going to eat me!" The bot switched one of his servos to a saw and began mowing down the fish and the weird looking-stuff that wrapped around him.

"Hot Rod! Help me!"

"Kup!" The young soldier was ecstatic to hear a familiar voice, and not just anybody's, but his mentor's! Hot Rod swam as fast as he could to get to his friend. "Thank The Matrix! I am not alone! OH, THANK YOU! Wait, what the slag is that thing? It has …"

"KUP!" Then something just set him loose. Maybe it was that he could no longer contain the pain, maybe it was that he just needed to kill something. Disabling all unnecessary systems for combat, Hot Rod jumped the gigantic techno-squid, in his head screaming atrocities and incomprehensible, raging things.

"Damn it! It got awa… Kup!" Quickly coming back from his frenzy and reactivating his vocalizers, along with his other systems, the Autobot remembered about his mentor. Kneeling down and taking the oldbot in his hands, Hot Rod worriedly said, "Kup! Talk to me!"

"Umfphh-hh. Fix me!"

"Sure Kup! Right away!"

.

.

"Ultra Magnus! We are going to reach the planet of Junk in exactly 8008135 astroseconds."

"Thank you, Perceptor." Stretching back in his chair, Ultra Magnus ended his short rest, "Will we be able to make a safe landing?"

"No. At the separation I was able to transfer only 10% of fuel and we have already used up 9.8%. It won't be enough to change our direction and velocity to the appropriate levels."

"Fair enough. Can you calculate the …"

"Already have."

"Good job, Perceptor. ETA?"

"404404 astroseconds."

Ultra Magnus ended his break and began thinking of their next move. The Decepticons would figure out that they did not destroy the Autobots and come back to finish the job for good, until then though, they should have the time to repair the ship. Afterward, they would need to find Hot Rod, Kup and the dinobots.

Surprised at how calm he was, Ultra Magnus decided to spend some time thinking about his young lover, since he wouldn't know what to do until the vessel was brought back to an operable state. Able to resist the uprising emotional turmoil that came as he thought about the other mech, he tried to figure out what to do with their relationship. The mech was extremely thankful that Hot Rod was still online, that was for sure, however the Commander couldn't help but feel confusion in his feelings, he just didn't know what he felt anymore. On one hand, Hot Rod made him happier than he had ever been, on the other, the soldier was the reason Optimus Prime was dead. Everybody committed mistakes no matter how careful they were but this time, the consequences were too huge. Thinking about it a little more, Ultra Magnus, with a new-born hope warming his being, concluded that he just needed time to get over it.

"Ultra Magnus! We are approaching Planet Junk."

"Brace for impact."

.

.

"Guilty or innocent?"

"Innocent."

"Feed him to the sharkticons."

"Bleaaarrrghaaaaaaa!"

"This is bullsh… wait what? Innocent? Then why did they … what?" Hot Rod was trying to process what had happened in the past few cycles.

Repairing Kup was not as hard as he thought it would be, which was already a plus because he feared that he would somehow screw up, again. Then those weird looking robots had nearly crushed them because they ran out of energon goodies.

"Oh great … taken down by midget sharks … and now this … I wish Ultra Magnus was here … no … I wish we weren't here … no … I wish … no! No wishing! It is time for action … right after we set ourselves free … somehow …"

"We've got to get a new travel agent."

Then they met Kranix, who kindly informed them about Unicron and what he was. It made Hot Rod's circuits sizzle that he was wasting time here, where here was.

"Unicron! Your cycles are numbered! We must get to the others and together … The Matrix! Oh, Ultra Magnus … please be safe … I don't know if I … wait … what are they doing?"

"Let him go!" Hot Rod yelled as he was shocked by the prison cell bars.

"How many more will have to die today? I should have stopped them! ARGH! Holy Cybertron … I AM WEAK! I can't protect anyone! Kranix! I am sorry! I will make sure your death is not in vain!" Hot Rod was drowning in his own helplessness, boiling with anger and chocking on frustration as he watched Kranix get dragged away to his doom.

.

.

"This exo-suit is fantastic! I think I am starting to get a hang of it!"

"Decepticons! We got to draw them off and double back to the shuttle."

Ultra Magnus knew that Galvatron would eventually figure out that the Autobots were still alive but he didn't expect it to be so soon. Horrible timing too; they had just gotten together all the materials and began repairs!

He didn't know what to do: there was barely any cover what so ever, nowhere to hide and most certainly there was no way they could run forever. It didn't help that the Decepticons destroyed the shuttle – their only way off this planet, not that it could be used for that purpose anyway. Ultra Magnus was getting scared more and more by the astrosecond and considering how things had been going lately, he did not expect a positive outcome which only instilled more fear in the Commander.

He had to keep moving, he had to keep shooting, he had to keep thinking. Ultra Magnus was desperately screaming inside his helm for a solution, kicking away the wish to surrender. Too much was at risk; he couldn't fail again, not again. As the Commander was shooting off the incoming Decepticons, he was hectically looking around, trying to think of anything to help them. At last, seeing a huge pile of junk with a cave-like hole in it, an epiphany came to him, a plan that was bound to work.

"Make a break for cover, I will try to unleash the power of The Matrix." Ultra Magnus managed to fend off the incoming sweeps until Perceptor, Blurr, Springer, Arcee and Daniel got under a huge pile of junk, the closest thing there was to sanctuary.

"'Till all are one."

"'Till all are one."

"This has to work!" Thoughts ran through the Commander's processor as he took the Autobot Matrix of Leadership out of his chest and tried opening it.

"Open! Damn it! OPEN!" Hearing Galvatron and Cyclonus land and begin to approach him, desperation began filling Ultra Magnus like never before. Bringing the mech on the verge of tears, complete and utter code breakdown, it quickly filled the life-scarred Autobot's very being with terror, misery, confusion, feelings of betrayal and agony, "Prime! You said The Matrix would light our darkest hour!"

"Magnus, I want The Matrix."

"NEVER!"

"Sweeps! Terminate him!"

"No! This is not the end! This cannot be the end! DAMN IT! I failed everyone!"

"Die!"

"OOOAAAAHHH!"

"It can't end like this! Not like this! Optimus! You guys! I failed you!"

"Die!"

Getting up after a whole barrage of blasts, coolant rushing to his optics, screaming not from physical pain so much as from the sheer agony, the Supreme Autobot Commander finally toppled; falling to the ground as his whole body exploded into dozens of pieces, with one last thought running through his processor before going offline.

"Hot Rod …"

.

.

"Before His Imperial Magistrate delivers a verdict, would you like to beg for your lives? It sometimes helps but not often."

"I freaking swear," Hot Rod thought to himself, "I will beat the slag out of everyone here, just need to get out of these restraints! I can take out the 5 guys on the left no problem and I am sure Kup can handle at least 3 … how is he progressing anyway? I am getting nowhere here."

"I can't transform."

"Keep trying."

"Silence or you will be held in contempt of this court."

"Ok, THAT'S IT!" The soldier felt like he was getting close to going on another rampage but instead he managed to control his urge; not that he could do anything with these stupid cuffs on anyhow.

"I have nothing but contempt for this court!"

"Guilty or innocent?"

"Innocent."

As they fell into the pool filled with hungry sharkticons, the restraints disappeared which made Hot Rod's violent vibes return.

"They got more sharkticons than we got photon charges."

"Then let's hold a demolition derby!"

"Kup, you are speaking my language!" The youngbot said, letting himself loose as the older mech followed his lead.

There were too many of them, no matter how many they terminated; more coming quickly, overrunning the two.

"Urgh! Get off of me! Slagging sharkticons! How are we gonna get out of this? I want to see Maggy again! I have to tell hi… AAAAAHHH!"

"Me Grimlock want to munch metal."

"Grimlock! YES! Grimlock! Thank you!"

With the dinobots stepping in to the fight, the tide was quickly turned in the Autobot's favor; especially after Grimlock got pissed, roaring and stomping, commanded the sharkticons to execute the Quintessons and introducing Wheelie to the two mechs.

"A way to get to Ultra Magnus! Yes! Things are finally turning around!" Hot Rod thought and turned to their new friend, "Hey Wheelie, you think you could help us find our friends?"

In just a few minutes they lifted off to planet Junk to reunite with their lost comrades.

"Ultra Magnus … there is so much I have to say … I … I can't … I want to be with you! I doubt that you will ever forgive me for what I did … but you would have hope! You wouldn't give up! I will do what I can to make up for my mistakes but I doubt I ever will to anyone, let alone myself …"

"Here they are! Arcee, Perceptor, Daniel, Springer and Blurr, and along with them a hundred something bots. Ok, steady, brin' her down steady"

Landing was actually quite easy thanks to Wheelie who taught them how to pilot the ship but the next part was going to be the tricky one.

"The scanner didn't pick up Ultra Magnus! What s going on? All right, calm down, remember what happened last time you rushed into something? Ok, so approach them, no weapons, the Universal greeting … what was it? Oh right … and … energon goodies … no sudden movements now, I need to find out what happened to Ultra Magnus! I ha… they want to da… THEY WANT TO DANCE? WE GOT BIGGER THINGS TO WORRY ABOUT! Calm down, all in due time, just follow their friendship ritual and all will be good."

.

.

Running diagnostics … stand by …

Energy Supply … 100%.

Memory check … complete.

Code Integrity … undamaged.

Muscles and Joints … operative state.

CPU … working at 100% capacity.

Sensors check … operational.

Ultra Magnus … online.

It was weird, exploding, going offline and now being fixed. Slowly activating his optic sensors and getting up, still wobbling, Ultra Magnus was joyful to see his friends alive.

"They are … online! THANK CYBERTRON! Oh! Slag! This is so great! They are alive! Hot Rod …"

"Maggy …"

As much as Hot Rod wanted to glomp his revived lover, he was able to restrain himself. He made a promise and he was not about to break it!

As much as Ultra Magnus wanted to hug Hot Rod, he could not show favoritism, especially now when all they ever knew was shadowed so heavily by a cloud of doom. Seeing Hot Rod's powerful resolve to bring this all to an end, the Commander's spirit was rejuvenated.

As they were boarding the ships, Ultra Magnus passed the young soldier a note, specifying a secure frequency and time.

If they were going to have a talk, it would be then.

.

.

Hot Rod made sure that he was alone, sitting at one of the consoles, entered the frequency information and waited for a reply. A response followed shortly, bringing up the video and audio feeds of Ultra Magnus on the Junkion ship.

"Maggy! Oh slag I am so slagging happy that you are functioning! I … I …" Hot Rod began lowering his head and shying his gaze away to the side.

"Hot Rod! Look at me! We have to talk."

"Yes, we do."

Both knew what they had to talk about but neither knew how to start or what to say. Every time one of them tried beginning the conversation, they either shied away or cut themselves off before they actually said anything comprehensible. Hot Rod then got fed up with the awkwardness of the moment and blurted out:

"''Ultra Magnus! Iamsosorryforallthathappened! Iwishicouldmakeituptoyou! Butican't! Iam …"

"Hot Rod, slow down, we both have gone through some very rough times and it has deteriorated our relationship. I cannot say that I do not care for you Hot Rod, I do, I … do … care … for you … but …"

"… but Optimus died because of me … I … I do not think I will … ever … be able to make it up to you … no matter what I do … I failed so many times and no matter how hard I try I am powerless …"

"I can't help but feel ... betrayed … frustrated …"

"Maggy, I will do all in my power to make up for it … but … I don't have the strength …"

"Please … listen! I … it is gonna take me some time … to get over … that …"

"I … understand …"

"Do you?"

"How do you think I feel about all of this? How do you think …"

"Sorry … I didn't mean to …"

"I am sorry too, I should not have snapped at you …"

"So … what are we going to do?"

"I dunno … what are our options?"

"I don't see any way we could get back together at this point … so … maybe … we should … wait?"

"Wait … huh?"

"Hot Rod, you made me happy, and you still do! It's just that … I … need time to think about all that happened and get over it …"

"I love you too Maggy … take your time … I wish I could help you … but I will only get in the way … I am trying to change … into a better Autobot, into a better individual … I don't want to fail like this! I don't want others, and more importantly you, to suffer because of my weaknesses and incompetency! I want to be more like you!"

"Like … me? What? I am clearly incapable of handling the responsibilities of The Supreme Autobot Commander … I am a soldier, nothing more …"

"How can you say that? Hundreds look up to you as an example of what they should be! Look at your self!"

"Look at what, exactly? How I failed my comrades? How I couldn't even hold onto what Optimus Prime passed on to me! What is there to look up to?"

"Emergency: approaching Cybertron All staff is to report to their stations immediately."

"Maggy, before I go, I want you to know that you are not just a role model for me and more than just a lover. You … have … slowly took over my universe and I will do all I possibly can to be worthy of someone as great yourself!"

Blushing all over, Hot Rod ran away to man his station – they would do all they could to destroy Unicron!

"I don't believe it," Springer said.

"Doesn't this remind you of anything, Kup?"

"Nope, never seen anything like this before."

"What happened to Moon Base 2? Where is my dad?"

"That's what we are gonna find out."

Hot Rod was determined, collected and a little wobbly from the talk but was ready to take on anything. It became quite clear that they would not be able to stand up to Unicron with just two ships, so Ultra Magnus devised a plan where the Junkion ship served as a distraction while Hot Rod looks for Galvatron.

Their strategy didn't go exactly as planned.

"Ultra Magnus! We picked up the signal!"

"Where is it coming from?"

"It is coming from inside Unicron!"

"What?"

"We are going in!"

"What? Hot Rod …"

"If we want The Matrix we need to get to Galvatron and he is inside Unicron! We are going in! Cover us!"

"Hot Rod …"

At that moment, Unicron finally managed to hit the Quintesson ship, breaking it into two.

"We are going in!" The young solider said as their half of the vessel was headed straight for Unicron.

"Hot Rod! Get out of there! Hot Rod! Hot Rod!"

Not like there was anything anybody could do. Breaking through the planet eater's eye Kup, Arcee, Springer, Daniel and the young mech were thrown out of the ship, separating them apart.

"This is going … better … than I expecteBLUARGH" the Autobot said as he landed on a spike sticking out of the wall. Unable to speak or breathe, he slowly slid off and after a short fall finally smashed on the ground.

"Get … the slag … up … get … up … ooooorgh …my joints! Ok, getting up, there we goOW! Now we go. All right, now to find Galvatron …" the mech slowly began boiling with rage as his conviction for redemption grew stronger with every astrosecond, "I gotta do it! I cannot fail! Daniel! Kup! Cybertron! Ultra Magnus! I may not have the strength to beat Galvatron but I will do all I slagging can to … wait … what is that? Oh! It is …"

"The Matrix!"

"It will do you no good. It cannot be opened."

"Not by a Decepticon!"

.

.

"We must keep distracting him!"

Ultra Magnus almost lost it when Hot Rod disappeared inside Unicron but in the last minute he was able to retain control.

"What was he thinking? How does he think I will end up if he dies on me? URGH!"

"Commander!" Perceptor interrupted the mech's processings, "Unicron will eventually get us if we keep going like this! His hand already brushed by the hull! Good thing we have the Junkions to help us otherwise we would have crashed!"

"What else to you propose we do?"

"I-I do not know Commander but …"

"Then come to me once you have a better idea."

"Y-yes Commander, you are right."

"Hot Rod," the bot got back to his thoughts, "you better be safe! You better come back alive! If you die I swear to Cybertron I will kill you. How can you think that you are not worthy of me?"

How could he? Ultra Magnus was not perfect; he wass not some unattainable prize that you needed to become something specific to be with. These thoughts only made Ultra Magnus feel really uncomfortable, he never liked this kind of attention or views. He loved Hot Rod for who he was; the smile, the laugh, the confidence, oh the confidence! Always so sure of himself until that fateful day.

"… slagging Mondays …"

"Faster!"

"We can't go any faster!"

"He is gonna catch us!"

The whole vessel suddenly stopped, throwing everyone all over the ship. Quickly getting up, they heard screeching and bending metal – the whole spacecraft was being squished by Unicron! It didn't help that he was glaring at them with such intense hate and malevolence, freezing even the toughest bots in place. As the ceiling was reaching the floor really fast, many gave up hopes of getting through this alive when suddenly the planet eater gave it a decisive squeeze and threw the disintegrating ship into the vast darkness of space.

"Perceptor!" Ultra Magnus screamed out, hanging on to a huge chunk of debris with Wreck-Gar, "Perceptor!"

"Right here sir!"

"Grab my hand! Hang on! Here! All right, send out a distress signal."

.

.

"I failed …" Pinned to the floor, slowly being crushed and chocked by Galvatron, Hot Rod was fiercely trying to get him off with no luck, unable to even scream for help.

"First Prime …"

"I was stupid ..." The young soldier hated himself for his ignorance. He was always so sure of himself and never really thought about the possible negative consequences -it lead only to disaster.

"… then Ultra Magnus …"

"I didn't make it in time ..." He hated being so helpless, it was killing him from the inside in the most painful ways imaginable.

"… and now, you!"

"No! I can't give up! Maggy would never give up! He would see it to the end! The Matrix!" As weak as he was, as pathetic as he was, as insecure as he was, Hot Rod refused to give up hope, going to the extreme out of desperation alone.

"It's a pity you Autobots die so easily or I might have a sense of satisfaction now!"

"Matrix! Optimus Prime! Ultra Magnus!" Hot Rod called out to The Matrix.

To his surprise, it began to glow with such intensity that both mechs were going blind. Then the young soldier felt it recognizing him, filling every corner of his being with hope, faith, resolve and strength. Kicking Galvatron off of him, Hot Rod rolled over and got up – The Matrix was calling to him as he heard Optimus' voice:

"Arise, Rodimus Prime."

"Optimus …"

It was glorious, it was majestic, it was epic- The Matrix chose its next Keeper.

He didn't know what he was thinking, too many things were going through his head but two thoughts remained strongest and only got louder in his head – he finally had the power to end all of this and Ultra Magnus …

"No!" Galvatron desperately began shooting the new Prime, managing to land a hit on his arm and casting The Matrix off to the side.

"This is the end of the road Galvatron!"

.

.

"… 'till all are one! 'Till all are one! 'Till all are one!"

Finally, the day was over. At last, the Great War was finished. However, some unattended business still needed attention.

"Hot Ro… Rodimus Prime."

"Ultra Magnus."

The two mechs stood there, looking into one another's optic sensors stuck in an awkward silence.

"We have to talk." Ultra Magnus said separating each word.

"Yes, we do."

"So, is there going to be 'us' at all?"

"I am The Supreme Commander now; I will be around people all the time. I know how much you hate being a Commander …"

"Rodimus, listen to me. The death of Optimus Prime is something that will take me time to get over. It is not that I don't love you …"

"It is just how can you trust me not hurt you like this again."

"… yes."

"I am sorry, you do not know. In your eyes, I have dropped quite low."

"We all make mistakes! Rodimus, you can't just throw away what we had! I still have feelings for you!"

"I do too. Even with all of this," Rodimus ran his hands across his chest plate, "Keeping The Matrix and becoming a Prime, I still can't help it but feel horrible for the damage I caused. I can only hope you can forgive me because I sure as slag cannot forgive myself."

"It is a failure only if we learn nothing valuable from it. Hot Ro… sorry, Rodimus. You are not a failure, not in my data banks."

"Thank you, Ultra Magnus. I will do all in my power to …"

"Rodimus! Please! Just … argh."

"What?"

"Just promise me that this is not the end. You are too important to me for it to just end like this!"

"You took the words right out of my mouth."

Again finding themselves drowning in awkward silence, the two mechs turned to the night sky imprinted with billions of stars of all colors and sizes.

"How many lives do you think were lost today?" Rodimus asked.

"How many lives do you think were saved today?"

Sighing, the two got back to admiring the peace and quiet of Cybertron.

"So what now, Rodimus?"

"Time will tell, Maggy," the Autobot leader said, grabbing his friend's hand and clasping it gently in his own, "Hey look! Unicron's head!"

"Ah, Mondays …"

Epilogue

Memory check … 67% intact.

Code Integrity … undamaged.

Muscles and Joints … missing.

CPU … working at 21% capacity.

Sensors check … missing optic sensors.

Unicron … online.

---

AN ENORMOUS THANKS to Crescent-Moon-Demon for her contribution to this: idea, inspiration, editing .. oh the editing ... THANK YOU C.M.D.!

I had to write this fanfic two times because my computer crashed and this one got deleted. It took me what, five days to rewrite this thing? Then the editing came. Again, a huge thanks to C.M.D. for reading this over twice because when i rewrote it, even though i added pages of new material, it was horrible so i edited it and ... it turned out to be MUCH better and actually readable.

I do not own Transformers.

My aim here is to create more context ... probably will be doing this with the whole G1 series.

I have been watching that movie for over 10 years of my life and it only gets better! And i notice new things! Like Blaster, where does he go? What happens to him? I didn't want Sunstreaker and Hound dead so ... HA! See? stuff like that i want to fill up.